London Daily Mile schools attend GO Run For Fun event at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

Today, 5,000 children from across London and the UK will be participating in the GO Run For Fun Foundation’s flagship 2017 event. Children aged five to ten will complete the 2-kilometre route through the iconic Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, cheered on by a number of inspirational athletes including Denise Lewis and Colin Jackson, and YouTube singing sensations Max and Harvey Mills.

This year, pupils from 13 London primary schools that have adopted the free health and wellbeing initiative, The Daily Mile, will also be lacing up their running shoes; proving how running, walking or jogging for just 15 minutes a day improves children’s fitness, and encourages them to access PE and Sport more widely.

From its humble beginnings in a large Scottish primary school, St Ninians, in 2012, The Daily Mile movement has grown enormously. Former headteacher and founder of The Daily Mile, Elaine Wyllie, created the initiative in response to observations that the children in her school lacked fitness. With the support of the GO Run For Fun Foundation and primary sponsor INEOS, The Daily Mile has now grown to encompass over 3,000 schools worldwide. That’s approximately 600,000 children taking part every day!

Parents and teachers have found that the children’s concentration and behaviour in the classroom is improved, their physical fitness increased, and their attainment raised. In London, The Daily Mile has been embraced to such an extent that every borough now includes at least one participating Daily Mile school, with several boroughs committing to a regional rollout.

Reflecting on the positive growth of the movement, founder Elaine Wyllie commented, “In just over a year, London has embraced The Daily Mile across all Boroughs and we hope to develop this further through the support of local councils and implementation partners, with the aim of making London the ‘world’s first Daily Mile city.’”

As well as a fun run, today’s event is set to be a celebration of children’s health and wellbeing. Elaine will be part of a panel discussion which will also include Jack Shakespeare, Head of UK Active Kids; Colin Jackson CBE, Olympic medallist, and Gary Palmer, Strategic Lead for Children and Young People at London Sport.

The panel will be hosted by Denise Lewis, Olympic medallist and broadcaster, who commented: “GO Run for Fun and The Daily Mile are two amazing projects that are inspiring a new generation of children and schools to become more active in their daily life. I am looking forward to cheering on the 5,000 children here today and hopefully these young ambassadors will continue to enjoy exercise and even join a local sports club.”

GO Run For Fun and The Daily Mile are both supported by INEOS, a multinational company headquartered in London, with health and fitness at the heart of its ethos. INEOS Chairman Jim Ratcliffe, who is himself deeply passionate about running, said: “It has never been more important to support young people in leading healthier, more active lives. We are very proud to support and celebrate these two initiatives that have been making a positive impact on the health and wellbeing of hundreds of thousands of children in the UK and beyond, for the last four years.”